I started by dragging a large piece of rock to the center of the pool, directly over the strongest spot of bubbling mana. Then, I closed my eyes, focusing on my connection with the dungeon.

With almost forty miles between the nearest dungeon gate and my location, connecting with the dungeon properly wasn't simple. I focused inwardly, gently coaxing the connection to create a buzzing, distant connection with the dungeon, feeling the effects of the distance.

Though, once I managed to connect with the dungeon of decay, switching to fire one had been easy. Too easy, even. Untethered by a gate, the dungeon had been like a leaf, hanging to the decay dungeon by just a connection, tethered weakly.

I sank my consciousness to the fire dungeon; feeling the heat build-up as I did so. Strangely comfortable, but I didn't have the luxury of enjoying it. Instead, I shifted to a cross-legged position to meditate on the sensation properly. But, rather than using my Meditation of Decay, I acted freely, creating a bubbling flame on the surface.

Underneath, the pool of water started to bubble, the grime and poison fading away equally, points of shimmers beautiful like unfamiliar constellations. Warm. Alive.

I let my senses drift downward through the liquid mana, trusting my armor to handle if the beasts populated the swamp, and started to get ideas. Not that I expected, as even the corpse of a boss monster was enough to intimidate them.

Slowly, deliberately, I expanded the connection I had to the fire dungeon, and brought forth its effect, trying to create a gate. The resistance was stronger than the decay dungeons, enough that if it wasn't for my familiarity with the process, it might have failed. There was a pulse of recognition, but it was weak, distant.

As if I was looking through a window. On the other side, there was a cauldron of heat and force, a blazing world.

I pressed deeper, pushing through the barrier to expand my control. A thin light of energy appeared in front of me, gentle and trembling, mental load increasing as it slowly grew, slowly turning into a gate.

Success, I thought, only for a sudden vortex to explode under me. The mana gathering in the pool jumped into the dungeon gate, far more intensely than I had expected, the dungeon absorbing it mercilessly.

And the world shifted.

For a moment, I wasn't in the swamp. I wasn't in my body.

I was flying through a sky thick with roiling black clouds, the world underneath me one of the flames, ash, and obsidian, full of death. A part of me knew that it was not the natural state of that world, but the aftermath of a skirmish; one that was a part of the ongoing war.

One that was waged by a horde of dragons, one that I was a part of. An army of beings, each born in the bowels of the earth, forged in the deepest fires, potent in magic and life alike, each carrying a spark of divinity inside, raging against the upstarts.

It was an army that was supposed to demolish many worlds, yet they were forced back to a hopeless despair.

The enemy spilled from the sky, endless in number and lacking in mercy. Each one was a writhing monster of dark tendrils, hunting for their divinity, representing unimaginable horrors of great dark.

Darkness spilled from the heavens, and the dragons raged, even if they were weakened by the great Betrayal. Yet, as the fire danced, life turned into death, defeat not too far away.

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Until, a flash came, and a single dragon appeared. Pure red, covered with old scars and fresh wounds alike, yet its sheer presence was enough to empower the defending horde. Its form turned aflame, eyes molten with power, its sheer presence alone enough to turn defeat into victory.

Yet, it was another victory where they lost more and more. All that remained was whether the darkness would finish them … or Betrayal.

The world shifted once more, the dream itself burned and I gasped. "That was intense," I muttered as I stood up, glad that I hadn't lost consciousness. I bit my lip, ignoring the implications of the dream for the moment to focus on the present.

No matter how curious I was about the … Betrayal, which was the best I could translate.

I turned my attention to practical concerns. Like the fact that the fire dungeon had flared back into life, its power recovered with a surprising speed. Luckily, it wasn't something I needed to act immediately.

More importantly, through its gate, my connection with the dungeon of decay reopened. It was oddly muted, but still enough to replenish my mana and give me a limited observation of its operations. And, that glimpse was enough to confirm there had been no immediate disaster in my absence, the signals that would rose in an emergency safely in place.

However, now that the connection back, I could feel the dark taint of the decay dungeon, which had been increased a noteworthy level since my departure, confirming that my hurried departure had been a good decision.

My most recent dream made me even more hesitant toward that mysterious energy, its source linked to the creatures of darkness, even though the dreams, their presence unsettling enough.

"Hopefully, my move will work as intended," I said, starting to examine the dungeon. The first glimpse was promising. With the gate open once more, the dungeon of fire started its operation to process the mysterious dark energy, absorbing some from the dungeon of decay, the mana from the leyline helping to process it.

With that, the binary dungeon ecosystem was successfully in operation, and could be left alone in the short term.

"Perfect," I said even as I turned my attention to the mana pool, which was being fully devoured by the fire dungeon, not leaving even a morsel. As for whether it would continue to devour as aggressively once its reserves fulled, that was a question for tomorrow.

With that done, I wanted to visit the settlement, to see their situation after the battle. The difficulty of their battle dropped significantly without the boss monster, but I would feel better after confirming it. But, before going in, I had one last thing to achieve.

I stepped through the dungeon. Terry and a large team, made of fighters and logistic personnel alike, for this exact purpose, greeted me, already at the newly opened gate. "Sir. I'm assuming it's a success."

"Yes, even better than I expected," I said. "Follow me. Guards first, then the logistic team," I said.

They did so. "Another swamp," Terry commented. "Lovely." Then, his gaze widened when he noticed the remains of the giant boss.

"Isn't it so," I said, smiling. "And, just as friendly." My Virtual Library Empire (M-VLEMPYR)

"What happened to it?" Terry said. "It's not decay."

"It learned that channeling the power of a leyline for one great attack wasn't entirely safe," I responded. "Something to keep in mind for us as well."

"Do you need me to process it?" he said.

"Not immediately. I want you to grow a statue of it first, radiating a poisonous aura. Make it as strong as possible."

"To warn the visitors?"

"Ideally," I said. "I don't expect to last forever, but it should be enough until we put some decent defenses around the place," I said, pointing at the logistic team spilling out, followed by steam trucks filled with metal plates, rapidly putting together an encampment. I turned my attention to them. "Cover the whole lake with normal metal, but I want you to dig around the pool, and cover it with mana-resistant metal," I ordered. "Prioritize them over weapons."

"It won't be easy," Terry commented.

"I trust you," I replied, patting his shoulder. "But, I'll help you finish once I return."

"You're leaving already?" he asked.

"Yes. There's a new town being built by the refugees just a few miles away," I said. "Their situation wasn't too good. I want to make sure they are safe." Terry nodded, and after some discussion about the logistics, I walked away, pulling a wooden cart filled with some decent but low-grade weapons and other metal ingots, as well as various other items like a selection of low-level skill stones, emergency rations, and other sundry.

After all, it was a proper move to bring a gift when visiting neighbors.